I bought Pentax for the exceptional value for money. Brilliant optics and excellent cameras (K10D) at much better prices than Canon or Nikon.

That was when it was a hobby. Now that I'm looking to take photography a step further and have started a business, there are a few things that Pentax really need to address to keep people in my situation loyal to the brand.

1. The auto focus' ability to achieve focus just is not good enough. In moderately dim ambient light conditions, my K10D hunts endlessly and often fails to lock focus. I find that for anything other than macros, I can't manually focus with the tiny digital viewfinders and I'm missing too many people shots due to lack of focus lock.

2. The continuous auto focus is pretty much unusable. With the DA70 mm limited, in bright, late afternoon light, I tried to take some portrait shots of someone slowly (and I do mean s-l-o-w-l-y) walking towards me. I tried continuous auto focus...not one shot worked. I tried focussing on a preset point and taking the photo when they crossed that point...better, but no keepers. It simply doesn't work anywhere near well enough to be useful.

3. high iso noise. It appears that Pentax have done a great job with the K20D, so hopefully this is no longer an issue.

4. There may be some quality control issues. Just little niggling things that have bothered me, but not enough to send my gear in for warranty repairs because i can't be without it. For example: my d-BG2 grip is completely random as to whether the shutter release control will work. My 5 month old DA*16-50 lens has started to get noisy (squeak) lately when focussing with the SDM system. The well known problems with the AF540FGZ flash locking on the hot shoe, etc. I'm sure all manufacturers have issues, but I can only go on what I've experienced myself.

I have really enjoyed learning on my *istDL and my K10D feels like an old mate, so comfortable am I with it's layout and controls. I want to stay with pentax, I have a lot of money invested in the system. I want to be proud of Pentax.

The last thing I want to do is have to sell my system and lose money purchasing something else (the D300 looks very good). I don't want to have to learn another manufacturer's way of doing things. I just want Pentax to go to that next step and make a truly word class camera that professionals can really, really use.

For me, the Pentax auto focus performance as it stands is really worrying. if the K20D isn't significantly better (able to compete for speed and accuracy with the D300 and others) in auto focussing, I may have to do some sums and work out what my options are. I want to stay with Pentax but I cannot afford to miss crucial shots at a wedding because the bloody camera can't find focus.

I hope Pentax do take note of what their customers want and if they do, this forum would be a good place for them to visit.

I admire Pentax for not getting sucked in to the marketing races of fps, etc. I like how they do things a little differently to make their cameras great tools for photographers. Unfortunately, the auto focus performance is now at a point where it is a hindrance for photographers. I'd be happy for them to stop chasing megapixels and make sure that the crucial functions of the camera like focussing are as good as or better than anything else available.

I'll keep my fingers crossed and see what the K20D delivers. I'll also keep an ear out for news about a pro body...but rumours have been around on that for two years or more and nothing has eventuated.

I don't want fancy full frame, machine gun fps, extra image processing modes, etc. I just want a robust, reliable camera like the K10 or K20D with precise, accurate and fast autofocus with real focus tracking, able to focus on a moving object that's travelling faster than a snail, and excellent image quality.

Please!!

Ok, I feel better now that is off my chest...


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